The Trip That Almost Didn't Happen

Those people who get my posts by email received this story, but it is not on my blog for some mysterious reason. So I have copied it from the email Johnny received. Hopefully this one won't disappear.

On Monday, June 12, of the week I was to leave for California on Thursday for Saturday dance performances by grandkids Cedrus and Kestrel (*and* their parents!), the goat Ebonita, mother of the triplets born May 23, became very sick... fast, shallow breathing, no milk, not eating. It looked like my trip was off.

I separated kids from mom but in adjacent pens with wire fencing between. I searched my goat books, my memory, and the internet, for causes and cures... with little success. Then I remembered the wonder tincture friend Blythe had given us when Johnny was sick with that miserable coughing bug that went around last winter. The tincture was made  by steeping Usnia hirta, a lichen, in vodka. That lichen grows prolifically in our woods.

With google's help, I learned that Usnia hirta has historically been used for pneumonia and pulmonary problems of all sorts... along with most every other ailment known to man. So I put a little of the tincture in Ebonita's water. She apparently does not like vodka as she quit drinking. But we have that lichen, also known as Old Man's Beard, all through our woods. So I gathered some and gave it to her. She ate it all.

Within 24 hours of eating the hirta, Ebonita's breathing had improved dramatically and she was eating again. I cut browse for her daily which she loved. And I kept feeding her kids on the other newly fresh doe, Felicity, when that doe was on the milk stand. It was a labor intensive situation and I did not think there was a prayer of getting things stabilized enough so Johnny could take over while I was gone for 5 days. But, with more usnia hirta... and a tough decision to get rid of the biggest of the triplets, plus the cleverness of the doe kid who learned to put her head through the wire and nurse from her willing mother, who had enough milk for one kid...  and Johnny's willingness to put the remaining buck kid on Felicity twice a day and cut more browse after I left, I was able to go. Bless Johnny's heart, he kept everyone alive until I returned.

And bless friends Judy and Don, my first stop on the trip, for their kindness and hospitality. They always make me feel so welcome and loved as I use their home as a rest stop before heading the rest of the way to the bay area. I had not left home until after morning chores on Thursday and was exhausted so stopped to take a nap, not reaching their home at the southern end of Oregon until late afternoon. I am sorry I took no photos there this time. This may be the last time I stay there as they have just put their beautiful home on the market... but assured me I will always have a bed to sleep in wherever they land next.

The first photos I took on this trip were of Mt. Shasta, capped with clouds.

After many rest stops and traffic angst in the busy bay area, I arrived at San Carlos on Friday afternoon. It was wonderful to see them all, happy and healthy and welcoming. On Saturday, all day, was the Dance Mode Studio end of the year performance. As it turns out, the studio is closing so this was the final performance ever. I'm so glad I was able to go!

This year, Kestrel and Cedrus are both in the "production" group, which means they go to contests and performances around the bay area. It also means they can invite a parent or sibling or friend to dance with them in the opening number of this final show. Kestrel asked Steve while Cedrus asked Munazza. They have all been practicing their dance together for weeks. Since Kestrel and Cedrus are the two youngest members of the production group, and the smallest, they were in the front line on stage... with their parents. They were all four very good! And had such happy smiles on their faces. What a delightful way to start the show.

Kestrel and Cedrus had many more dances throughout the afternoon. Johnny will get to see them when the video I ordered of the performance arrives. That is how we have seen the end of the year recital in past years. It's fun to be able to watch as often as we want, but I am thrilled I saw them perform live this time.

Although photography is not allowed during the performance, we were able to take photos of the kids on stage after it was all over. The trick was to get a photo when they were holding still.

I took few other photos. Here is one of the pretty succulent garden in their back yard.

And I took one of the four of them just before I left in the early afternoon on Sunday.

My destination was Munazza's sister's house in El Cerrito, north of Berkeley. Faiza was so excited that I was coming to visit... only the second time since she bought the condo she had been renting a room in before... that she decided to make me Thanksgiving dinner. She would not let me take a photo of her but I was allowed to take a photo of dinner. It was delicious.

The weather was turning hot. In fact, Steve said it hit 100 the day I left. It was a bit cooler in El Cerrito, but I left early on Monday to try to beat the heat that was predicted to break all records. It did. Everywhere along I5 as I headed north through California, the temperature was over 100. Thank goodness for car air conditioning.

On the way home, Shasta was in full sunshine, so I stopped to take a photo. This particular stop has a sidewalk the length of it with facts about Shasta embedded in the concrete walkway. "Does Mt. Shasta have glaciers?" asks one question. A short distance farther on the answer appears in the sidewalk. "Yes, 7 glaciers." There is a question about how many people attempt to climb Shasta every year... and how many succeed. But you'll have to go visit yourself for the answer, as I don't remember.

It was suffocatingly hot every time I stopped but I was getting very tired so I pulled into Castle Crags State Park, which appeared to have shade, for a nap. The kind ranger said if all I wanted to do was take a nap, he suggested I go up the road out of the park, in the wilderness area, and pull off anywhere. That way he would not have to charge me. So I did. And what a wonderful thing that was. Cool in the shade (relatively speaking) with a lovely view of the headwaters of the Sacramento river. I found a path down closer to the water and took more photos there than I had taken anywhere else.

Some day I want to hike in the park itself which boasts a spectacular view of Castle Crags. But this day, I wanted to get home. So on I went, in the horrid heat, until the temperature dropped when I climbed out of the Grants Pass area. I took my usual shortcut to avoid Salem, stopping at Ankeny Wildlife Refuge. I had eaten lunch there on my way south. I ate supper this time on my way north. And took photos of the Eagle Marsh area, my refuge from traffic.

I swear these goslings were half this size when I stopped on my way south.

I arrived home in time to do evening chores while Johnny and Paul started cutting our hay. The weather report was for ten days of no rain... time to hay!

I was glad to have had a break with a great trip to visit wonderful family and friends, and with all the animals still alive when I got home, thanks to Hirta usnia... and Johnny.